The Fever
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3.7 • 6 Ratings
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- £4.99
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- £4.99
Publisher Description
Deenie, Gabby and Lise are best friends - a tight girl-unit negotiating their way through the troubled waters of their teens, a world of sex, secrets and intense relationships.
When first Lise then Gabby falls prey to a mysterious illness, hysteria sweeps their school and, as more girls succumb, Deenie finds herself an outsider, baffled by the terrifying illness and scared that it could all be because of something she has done.
Suffering with Deenie are her dad and her brother, both protective of Deenie, but each with secrets of their own . . .
The Fever is an explosive novel in which Megan Abbott explores the lethal power of guilt and desire, and how mass hysteria can grip a community, making real our deepest fears.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Abbott's (Dare Me) thrilling seventh novel takes a peek into the strange, inscrutable minds of teenage girls. Deenie, Lise, and Gabby are the "Trio Grande," whispering together in the library and giggling late into the night during sleepovers. Their "teen-girl-ness" confounds Deenie's father, a teacher at their school, and her older brother, Eli, a popular hockey player. When Lise has an unexplained a seizure during class, the girls' triumvirate is thrown into disarray, and no one seems to have any answers. Everyone from doctors to school administrators are keeping quiet, sending a ripple of fear throughout the school. Almost immediately, other girls start getting sick and the suspicions and hysteria quickly rouse the small town into a fervor. Parents, teachers, and students alike speculate wildly, the rumored causes ranging from stress to mutant viruses, as Deenie tries to find out the truth. Abbott's adolescents are close to pitch-perfect with their sudden switches between childlike vulnerability and calculating maturity. What the narrative lacks in depth it makes up for in momentum and dark mystery. This is a gripping story fueled by the razor-sharp treachery, jealousy, hormones, and insecurities of teenage girls.
